Toy figures, particularly toy birds



Oct. 30, 1962 F. COLLISCHAN TOY FIGURES, PARTICULARLY TOY BIRDS Filed May 21 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FRITZ COLLISCHAN WW ATTORNEY5 Oct. 30, 1962 F. COLLISCHAN 3,060,631

TOY FIGURES, PARTICULARLY TOY BIRDS Filed May 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR FRITZ COLLISCHAN ATTORNE Y5 United Staes are The invention relates to a toy figure, particularly a toy bird, which with the aid of a driving mechanism, such as a clockwork motor, carries out various movements and is provided with a sound-producing device.

In the production of toy birds in approximately the same size as the original they actually represent, it is difficult to accommodate the clockwork motor in the interior of the body and to reproduce the desired movements as far as possible true to nature.

The invention solves this problem in a simple manner and with an effect which is very realistic. This is attained in that a clockwork motor is accommodated in the interior of the body of the figure, composed of two half-shells, and drives a weight for producing an unbalance and a control wheel for effecting the various movements.

The control wheel is preferably so constructed that the movements of the body, the movement of the beak and also the sound production are derived therefrom.

The nodding movements of the bird effected by the control wheel as well as by the unbalance produced by the weight give the appearance of the toy bird pecking at food, and in so doing it moves about on the surface on which it is standing and at the same time pecks at this surface. At the same time the opening of the beak and the soundproduction are so controlled that the bird chirps both in upright and also bending position when searching for food.

The up and down movements of the body of the figure are caused by the fact that a leg carrier arranged in the housing of the clockwork motor on the one hand carries the feet and on the other hand cooperates through a slot in a swing arm with a bolt mounted on the control wheel and guided in this slot.

The production of the cry of the bird and the movement of the beak are effected jointly by a lever oscillatably mounted on the housing so that its free end bears under spring pressure against an abutment on the housing and thus closes the beak and holds the sound-producing device out of engagement with a friction wheel of the clockwork motor. The swing lever is swung out of its normal position by a laterally projecting pin on the control wheel with the result that on the one hand the locking of the beak can be released and the lower part of the beak moved into its open position under the force of gravity, and on the other hand the vibrating tongue of the sound-producing device comes into contact with a movable part, for example a friction wheel, of the clockwork motor under the action of a spring.

Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the accompanying drawings illustrating by way of example one embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 being a perspective view of the toy figure,

FIG. 2 an internal view of the toy figure viewed in the direction of the arrow x in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 an internal view from the opposite side,

FIG. 4 a top plan view of the clockwork motor,

FIG. 5 a bottom plan view, thereof,

FIG. 6 a similar view of the toy figure to that shown in FIG. 2 but in pecking position, and

FIG. 7 a similar view to that of FIG. 3 but in pecking position.

The toy bird has a hollow body or housing composed of two shell halves 1 and 2. Inside this housing a clockwork motor is arranged which enables the bird to carry out the required movements and produce sounds.

The clockwork housing 3 has on both sides projections 4 and 5 by means of which it is fixed in the shell halves 1 and 2, for example by clinching. The power necessary for producing the movements and the sound is provided by a spring mounted on a winding arbor 6. The power is transmitted by a gear wheel 7 to a pinion 8 which is mounted on a shaft 9 also carrying a gear wheel 10 and a pinion 11 for driving a control wheel 12.

The gear wheel 10- also meshes with a pinion 13 fixed on a shaft 14. A crown wheel 15 arranged on this shaft meshes with a pinion 16 on an axle 17 which carries a weight 18 for producing unbalance. The shaft 14 also carries a gear wheel 19 which drives a friction wheel 21 continuously in a clockwise direction through the intermediary of a pinion 20.

The control wheel 12 has a laterally projecting pin 22 which extends into a slot 23 in an oscillatably mounted leg carrier 24. This carrier can swing about a bearing shaft .25 rotatably mounted on bearings on the clockwork housing 3. It has two outwardly projecting stumps 26 set at an angle on which feet 27 constructed as stand elements are fitted.

The control Wheel 12 also has lateral projections 28 by which an arm 29 of a swing lever 30 is controlled. The arm 29 forms part of the lever 30 which is supported swingably on bearings on the clockwork housing 3. The other arm 31 of this lever effects the closing of the lower part 32 of the beak and the swinging of the soundproducing device 33. An abutment 34 projecting sidewise from the housing 3 limits the swing movement of the lever 30, caused by a tension spring 35. As shown in FIGURE 2, the spring '35 is fastened on one end to a projection of the clockwork housing 3 and on the other end to an eyelet on the lever 30. The function of the tension spring is to hold arm 29 in the position shown in FIGURE 2.

The sound-producing device 33 comprises a fiat box 36 acting as sounding board and a diaphragm 38 preferably consisting of a metal foil. The production of sounds is effected by a vibrating tongue 37 bearing against a friction wheel 21. The tongue 37 is fastened to the diaphragm 38 by means of a holding pin 37a as shown in FIGURE 3. The production of sounds is effected by reason of the fact that the vibrating tongue 37 is brought to bear against a friction wheel 21. The tongue is therewith set into vibrations which are amplified by the membrane 38 and which by means of the flat box 36 which is a resonant chamber, produce the desired soundingcondition. The sound-producing device 33 is oscillatably mounted in the housing 3 by means of pivot pins 39 and is influenced by a spring 40 which swings the device and thereby presses the vibrating tongue 37 against the friction wheel 21.

The sound-producing device 33 can only be swung by the spring 40 when the free arm 31 of the lever 30 is moved out of its position of rest by the projections 28 because the abutment 41 of the lever 30 then releases a pin 42 on the sound-producing device 33. The spring 40 is formed as a bow spring and is mounted on bearings on one of the pivot pins 39. Its one end is placed low against the shaft 25. Its other end is fixed to a pin on the flat box 36. Thus the spring 40 tends to press the sound producing device 33 constantly upward and therefore tends to swing it outward about its rotary axes which is pin 39 as shown in FIGURE 5. The pin 42 is arranged to project to the side on the fiat box 36. It is controlled by the edge 41 of arm 31 of swing lever 30. Thus, as the arm 31 is pulled toward the abutment 34 by the spring 35, the edge 41 thereon engages the pin 42 to pivot the sound making device 33 to which the tongue 37 is fastened, thereby moving the tongue away from the friction wheel 21.

Thus the closing movement of the beak and the swinging of the sound-producing device are controlled by a single element, namely the swing lever 30. These two movements are also dependent upon the position of the body of the toy figure owing to the fact that the projections 28 and the pin 22 are on a common control wheel 12.

I claim:

1. In a toy figure resembling the body of an animal having a movable lower jaw and pivotally supported about the upper portion of legs, means supported in the interior of the figure for realistically reproducing the sounds and movements of such an animal comprising: a motor; a rotatable control wheel driven by said motor; means operatively connected between the legs and said control wheel for imparting an up and down oscillatory movement of the figure about its pivotal support at the upper portion of the legs; a pivotally supported lever having an arm in engagement with the movable lower jaw; resilient means for biasing said lever to hold the lower jaw in a closed position; means on said control wheel for moving said lever about its pivotal support against the bias of said resilient means to open the lower jaw; a rotatable friction wheel driven by said motor; sound-pro ducing means including a resonant box having a diaphragm thereon; a resilient tongue fastened to said diaphragm and swingable to and from positions of contact with said friction wheel; means for moving said tongue to and from positions of contact with said friction wheel concurrently with the opening and closing respectively of the movable jaw; a rotatable shaft driven by said motor; and an eccentric weight carried on said shaft, whereby movements of the figure about the pivotal support thereof on the legs are supplemented by said eccentric weight to effect both nodding movements and movements of the figure about a surface on which it is supported concurrently with the opening of the jaw and production of sound.

2. A toy figure resembling a bird comprising: a hollow body; depending legs pivotally connected to support said body; a beak movable between open and closed positions; a motor mounted in said body; a rotatable control wheel driven by said motor; means for imparting up and down oscillatory movement to said body about the pivotal connection of said legs in response to rotation of said control wheel; sound-producing means in said body; means for periodically actuating said beak and said sound-producing means simultaneously upon opening movement of said beak also in response to rotation of said control wheel; an eccentric weight driven by said motor; and means mounting said weight within said figure to produce movements of the figure about a surface on which it is supported and to give the appearance of a bird peeking at food during said up and down oscillatory movement.

3. The apparatus recited in claim 2 in which said control wheel is provided with a plurality of lateral projections to control said means for actuating said beak and said sound-producing means and in which said means for imparting up and down movement includes a pin laterally extending from said control wheel, said pin being in engagement with said legs.

4. The apparatus recited in claim 3 in which said means for actuating said beak and said sound-producing means includes a lever having two arms and being pivotally supported between said arms, one of said arms being in operative engagement with said beak and the other of said arms being positioned to be engaged by said lateral projections to pivot said lever and enable said beak to open.

5. The apparatus recited in claim 4 including a spring for biasing said lever to hold said beak in a closed position.

6. The apparatus recited in claim 4 in which said sound-producing means includes a pivotally supported sound box, a diaphragm on one side of said box, a tongue member fixed at one end to said diaphragm, a projection on said sound box engageable by said lever, and means engageable by said tongue member to vibrate said tongue member and said diaphragm when said box is pivoted by movement of said lever under the influence of said lateral projections.

7. The apparatus recited in claim 2 in which said beak is formed having a pivoted lower jaw movable by gravity to an open position and in which said means for actuating said beak includes a pivoted lever spring biased to engage said lower jaw and hold it in a closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 753,109 Poppenhusen Feb. 23, 1904 1,783,511 Marx Dec. 2, 1930 1,793,121 Muller Feb. 17, 1931 2,013,709 Boissoneau Sept. 10, 1935 2,514,450 Kopf July 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 567,526 France June 18, 1923 

